


Coping

by Annasunshine77



Category: Sally Face (Video Games)
Genre: Angry Larry, Arguing, Crying, Fluff, Light Angst, M/M, Making Up, Mild Language, Salarry, kiss, light blood
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-05
Updated: 2019-04-16
Packaged: 2020-01-05 02:07:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,756
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18356411
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Annasunshine77/pseuds/Annasunshine77
Summary: Sal couldn’t think of anything to say to fix this. His mind was in shambles and he felt like his whole body fell in cold water. He had never wanted to make Larry so upset. He regretted everything he yelled the instant his brain could process the words.





	1. Chapter 1

Sal usually tried to avoid the topic of Larry’s father when they were together, and Larry returned the favor with Sal’s mother. The metalhead was almost always calm, especially when spending his time with Sal, but Sal saw a change when they discussed his father. The topic wasn’t completely off limits, but Sal noticed Larry never talked about him unless Sal brought him up. However, today was seemingly different. Larry had been silently steaming with his loud metal music blaring as Sal stepped into the familiar basement room. Sal noticed the blood dripping along his knuckles immediately.

“Dude, have you been punching your wall?” Sal’s incredulous voice barely reached over the music.

Larry didn’t say anything, just let his apathetic eyes slip over the blue haired boy as he walked towards his stereo. The ambiance felt wrong to Sal, the vibes from Larry putting him on high alert.

“You should really talk to someone if-”

“It isn’t something I want to talk about,” Larry’s rough voice drudged out as he turned down the music volume. Droplets of blood dripped down his fingers to the floor, falling onto the green carpet.

Sal took a deep breath, watching the heated boy across the room. His blue eyes trailed the blood smeared along the faded yellow wallpaper. “I’m just saying, you shouldn’t let that ruin your day. Or your hands, Larry, shit.”

Larry whipped his head around at that, his dark eyes burning. “Really, Sal? You obviously don’t understand,” Sal crossed his arms, tilting his head in irritation. “He left us. Dad just left us without a word, like it was so goddamn easy for him.” Larry’s voice dropped to a mutter and his eyes fixated on a poster stuck to the floor that had been torn from the wall. “That prick didn’t leave a note, didn’t say anything. I was so young, mom needed him. I needed him.” 

“Larry, I’m pretty sure it’s more complicated than that,” Sal stared at the taller boy who began pacing the room. It felt like he was stuck in a room with a wild animal. He needed the other boy to calm down so he could think accurately. “You need to chill out. You’re making this worse by freaking out and doing dumb shit!” 

“Stop talking about things you don’t know about,” Larry growled out, “I didn’t call you down here to judge my emotions when yours are always hidden.”

Sal couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He knew it wasn’t intended as a jab at his scars, but damn if Larry didn’t know how to get under his skin. “What the hell does that mean, dude?” He could feel his hands shaking, his heart pounding. “Nobody knows what happened so why are you so dead set on hating him?”

The brunet glared at the shorter boy as his face became red with hot fury. “He fucked up our lives! He abandoned me, why am I not allowed to be angry about that?” Larry snarled, clenching his stinging fists erratically. “Yeah, you got closure, but you out of everyone should still be able to get this!”

Sal bristled and he jabbed his finger at the metalhead, “My mother was taken from me, she didn’t get to leave. Do not compare those two,” Sal couldn’t stop the vile words from tumbling out of his mouth once they started, “we do not have the same sob story. I’m not the one feeling sorry for myself and punching my walls over abandonment issues.”

The tall boy felt something in him snap.

Larry’s outward rage had disappeared, crumbling around his face. What was left was a cold, dangerous voice that had warning bells ringing in Sal’s brain. “Leave.” The younger boy felt his confidence become as brittle as glass when Larry turned away from him.

Is he really making me…?

“Lar-”

“Get out, Sally Face.”

Sal couldn’t think of anything to say to fix this. His mind was in shambles and he felt like his whole body fell in cold water. He had never wanted to make Larry so upset. He regretted everything he yelled the instant his brain could process the words. All he knew now was that he needed to leave before Larry saw him cry. He hurriedly backed his way to the cold, metal door handle. Wavering a few seconds, he looked to see if Larry would give him any sign to stop. The taller boy didn’t spare him a glance.

He had wanted to stay. He had wanted to grab Larry by his shoulders, shake him, and tell him how much he loved him. How he wasn’t alone. How it was okay to cry. He had wanted to grab Larry’s hands in his tiny fingers and clean and bandage the knuckles. But instead, he was walking down the hallway, alone, feet echoing in the darkness.

Finally making it back to his cold room, Sal grabbed his new walkie-talkie, and scuttled onto his bed. The electronic had been a gift from Larry after the previous one had been “recycled”. He said he had liked being able to talk to Sal when he couldn’t sleep. Sal threw off his mask and buried his head in the pillows, not caring that it hurt his sensitive face. Tears absorbed into the fabric and once they started it was hard to find a way for them to stop. They dripped down his mutilated face as he tried to convince himself that they would be fine. Larry was angry but he would mellow out like he always did. He was sure things would be okay by the next day. He wrapped the blankets around him and felt Gizmo curl up beside his covered feet. “Will it be okay, Gizmo?” Sal asked into the darkness. He couldn’t help but feel like he was sinking when the expected silence echoed around him. He eventually fell into a fitful sleep, waiting to hear the static from his walkie-talkie lying beside his head, but it never came.


	2. Chapter 2

Things had not been fine the next day. Nor the one after that. The past few days had been undeniably rough for Sal. The time drug along without contact from Larry. Sal found his heart aching with every thought of him. The tall boy had been so angry. So dismissive. Maybe he…maybe he didn’t want Sal in his life anymore. The thought was scarier than any ghost Sal had encountered. Larry was the one constant beacon in Sal’s ragged life. 

Sal sunk into his bed, fiddling with his fingers. His brain felt like it was on fire from how fast his thoughts ran through his head. It was a stupid fight; he could admit that. But it was their worst fight. The first time they had exposed the nastiness underneath them, and honestly, the blue haired boy didn’t know how to come back from it. Replaying the scene bred anger at himself. He recalled the pain in Larry’s eyes, the way he bottled up thoughts until they exploded, like his fist against the wall. Sal should’ve seen that he needed him. If but just to listen. He felt guilt rain down his chest, spreading through his veins. Larry needed comfort, but instead hurtful words he didn’t mean crawled out of his mouth. His prosthetic didn’t help, keeping his expressions shielded during every remark. But he didn’t think Larry would ignore him like this. He couldn’t even get Larry to look at him in school no matter what he said, and it made him feel like the worst person on earth.

He looked at the neon alarm clock, the numbers blaring 11:55PM. Was Larry thinking about him too? Or was he the farthest thing from his mind? Sal’s eyes slid around his room. Everything he saw brought a pang of hurt. The Sanity Falls poster. The photographs. The crappy friendship bracelet lying on his dresser. He couldn’t look anywhere without being reminded of the metalhead. He settled for the white ceiling, the cracks imitating how fallen he felt. He never should have left. He should have wrapped his arms around the tall boy. He should have fought back his fear, taken the bloody hand in his, and kissed it better. Tears streamed down the sides of his face. His heart hurt and he was beginning to feel like he was drowning. He couldn’t take it anymore.

Sal forced himself off the bed and hesitantly slipped on his prosthetic. He grabbed is blue glass eye, sanitizing it before slipping it in. He quickly looped his hair in two loose pigtails before sneaking through the apartment door. His feet slid as he hastily made his way down to the elevator, the black nightgown he donned swirling around his ankles. His heart beat so wildly in his chest, he thought he heard it alongside the creaking of the old elevator. He finally found his way to the basement quarters, the darkness clinging to every wall. It felt like life of death, but he still found himself hesitating at Larry’s apartment. He knew what he needed to do; he needed to softly knock on Larry’s wall to hopefully get him to come to the door. Sal had to do this a few times before, when he had forgotten his walkie-talkie. 

The small boy stood there, rooted like a tree, until he forced himself to raise his shaking hand and rasp his knuckles against the wall standing between him and Larry. He immediately regretted it, wishing he could dissolve into the inky black walls rather than face the older male. He tried to slow his breathing, his prosthetic felt suffocating. Instead, he focused on the slick feeling of his painted black nails, rubbing them against his thumbs.

The door abruptly opened, making Sal jump out of his skin. Larry peeked out from the darkness. Sal’s first reaction was a stupid grin. He couldn’t help it; he had missed the other boy so much. He was glad his prosthetic concealed his face. Larry looked drowsy but apparently still awake, as he wore his shirt designated for painting. The brunet didn’t say anything, just fixed his blank eyes on Sal for a moment before turning and walking back to his room, leaving the door open for Sal. The blue haired boy stepped into the dark room, quietly closing the door and tiptoeing to follow the other. 

The metalhead’s room was mostly the same as before. There was a new painting Larry was working on. Sal couldn’t see details but the canvas was splashed with robin egg blue. It looked like the blood smears on the wall had been wiped, but the rust color had bled into the faint wallpaper. Sal stood awkwardly in the corner of the room, beside the shut door. His blue eyes observed Larry, searching for any sign of acknowledgment, but the brunet seemed like he was avoiding Sal, his back turned to clean his paintbrushes. Sal’s panic grew and he felt he was losing his chance to make things right. Larry wouldn’t look at him. Why wouldn’t Larry look at him? Why was he here again? A deep ache crawled its way down Sal’s spine, rendering him frozen as his brain went into overdrive. Larry hated him. Larry was going to make him leave again. Sal felt his face heat up and his vision become blurry. He would never forgive himself for messing this up. The plastic felt so hot against his sensitive face, the free air inside filling up with tears and hot breaths. He started to have a hard time breathing. Sal could feel his finger’s moving on their own. They shook and fumbled around with the back of his shielding prosthetic. “Larry please…please don’t make me go again,” his voice sounded so broken and he hated himself for it. Tearing off the mask, he buried his face in his hands and sobbed.

Larry’s icy demeanor completely melted. He felt his heart jump in his chest as he whirled around to his best friend. “Oh, Sally, don’t cry,” his voice soft and surprised; completely different from how Sal thought he would sound. He was across the room faster than he remembered moving. His arms encircled Sal’s trembling body and he felt the small male shaking with effort to keep his breathing calm. Larry felt terrible witnessing Sal in such a state, guilt weighing on his body, becoming heavier than he thought he could carry. He had made Sal, the strongest person he knew, cry. That was so not metal.

Sal couldn’t help but flinch when he felt the gentle strokes of Larry’s fingers against his head and down his back. He couldn’t stop the tear tracks from burning their way down his tender face. “I c-can’t st-stop,” Sal struggled to catch his breath.

“Shhhh lean on me, Sally Face, I got you,” Larry maneuvered them over his giant bean bag and fell into the worn fabric, tenderly pulling Sal on top of him. He could feel every quiver and shallow gasp leaving the weeping boy curled against him. “I’m here, I’m here,” he whispered as he aimlessly stared at the ceiling, upset with himself for letting it get this far. “We’re okay,” he kissed the blue head and raised his hands to remove the hair ties.

Sal burst into fresh tears at those words. The older boy released his hair from their loose pigtails and began combing through it with his long, talented fingers. “Sal, I should’ve never said those things to you, made you feel that way,” Larry sighed, “I’m sorry I got so upset, dude.”

Sal caught his breath as he forced his head up to the brunet’s heavy eyes, “Larry, you’re allowed to be angry, you are so allowed to be angry,” he wiped at his tear stricken eyes. “If anyone should be sorry it’s me, you needed someone and I made it worse.”

Larry gaped in awe at the beautiful being in front of him. His breath escaped him every time he witnessed Sal’s bare face. The scarred skin. The jagged muscle. The way his real blue eye was rimmed with red. “You were just trying to help, and I was a complete dick,” Larry pushed their heads together. “Can we agree our childhoods left something to be desired? We shouldn’t compete in suckiness when we make life better for each other.”

Sal picked up Larry’s hand, eyeing the bruised and scabbed knuckles. “Please don’t hurt yourself like this again, Lar.” His big ocean eyes looked up at the man holding him. “Let me know when you’re struggling and I will come to you. Anytime, anywhere. You are my favorite person; I want to help you like you help me.”

Larry looked away, embarrassed at the way his eyes watered at Sal’s sweet words. “I promise.”

Sal felt his heart overgrow with vines of love for the human holding him. He wrapped his arms around Larry, trying to comfort him like he so desperately needed. “He didn’t abandon you. I don’t know what exactly happened, but no normal person could willingly leave you.” Sal nuzzled the other boy’s chest. “Larry, your father would be so proud of you.”

Larry smiled sadly, his jaw shaking as he blinked back tears.

Sal could tell Larry was physically and emotionally exhausted. He was too. Emotions high, they had as much deep talk as they could handle for the night. Running his hands through Larry’s hair, he changed the subject. “We should go bandage your hand.”

Larry let a lazy smile spread across his face. “Let’s do it in the morning, I don’t want to move from this spot.”

“You will when you can’t feel your legs from my weight,” Sal smirked.

“We’ll cross that bridge when we get there,” Larry mumbled in his hair. 

“Lar, we should really move to the bed so you can sprawl out. I don’t want you bitchin’ at me for the kink in your back.”

“Okay, mom.”

Sal made a face. “Gross. Don’t ever insult Lisa like that again.”

Larry rumbled with gentle laughter before forcing himself to slide off the bean bag, scooping Sal up with him. He switched the lights off before falling on the bed. Sal was right, as usual. It felt damn good to stretch his legs. 

Larry nuzzled Sal’s temple, whispering, “I love you, and I’m sorry.”

Sal turned his head to meet the other boy. He brought his hand to Larry’s chin, bringing their lips together. “I’m sorry, and I love you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Always kiss and make up ^^   
> Sorry it took a week and then some to finish, it became longer than I originally planned and I always second guess what the hell I'm writing. 
> 
> Let me know if it was okay :) or if you hated it :(

**Author's Note:**

> I cried when we witnessed Sad Larry in the game and Sal hugged him. Some say you can still hear me crying because Larry didn’t let himself believe the truth.
> 
> Anyway, I'm planning on this being the first part to a two-part fic where the boys argue. Because I’m a sucker for conflict and reconciliation.  
> Let me know if you want the second part ;)


End file.
